According to Poten, “the countries around (or connected to) the Med include large oil consumers, such as France, Spain, Italy and Turkey as well as major oil producers, including OPEC members Algeria and Libya. Turkey is also a major transport hub for crude oil from Azerbaijan and Iraq via its Mediterranean terminal at Ceyhan. At the same time, it facilitates exports from Russia and Kazakhstan as oil is transported from the Black Sea through Turkish Straits into the Mediterranean.
Data from Vortexa shows that on an average day over the last 4 years, some 3.0 Mb/d of crude oil is loaded within the Med that is destined for other ports within the region. On top of that there are also barrels moving into the area from other sources (mostly from the United States) and movements of oil from the Med to other regions (primarily Northwest Europe as well as the United States).
About two thirds of the crude oil that is transported within the Med is carried on Aframaxes and a quarter on Suezmaxes. There is always a lot going on in the Med and this is reflected in the tanker market”. Poten added that “freight rates are extremely volatile, with the Aframax TCE’s on the Sidi Kerir to Lavera route, being used as benchmark.
We use this as the representative route for intra-Med voyages on Aframaxes. Over the period 2018 – 2024 YTD we have seen numerous peaks and troughs caused by a variety of events, most of them highly unpredictable. In the early part of this period, Libyan oil prod.